The dust has settled on the 2024 edition of the St. Catharines Rotary Ribfest!
President Jackie was thinking what an enormous feat was just completed. The hours. So many volunteers. She writes, “Regardless of the issues, the last-minute game time decisions and the constant need to keep all the parts moving, Melissa rose to the occasion and did a tremendous job of pulling us through.”
Melissa DeBeau, 2024 Ribfest Committee Chair, managed to work an incredible amount of hours, over and above what she does at a full-time position. She had to constantly realign priorities, adapt to the situation at hand, and mitigate unexpected challenges for close to a year.
Joel Chatterton was there every step of the way, providing support and sage advice, and being Melissa’s biggest cheerleader. As well as providing the occasional joke to keep everyone’s spirit light. He also put in an immense amount of time.
Both deserve the accolades they have received for their dedication and commitment.
WELL DONE!
- David Grabb
President Jackie continues, “Despite the chaos, when I stand behind the beer counter with fellow Rotarians and look out and see the massive crowds and the magnitude of the setup, there is a very large sense of pride, accomplishment and genuine awe, that I feel even more-so this year as the President of such a fantastic club. Thank you to everyone that held a coordination role with grounds, vendors, cash trailer, volunteers, sponsorship, electrical/fencing, bands, sponsor tent, promotion, beer, ribbers, clean up, and set up/take down in general, and/ so many other important roles and all that signed up to do a shift. This is massive undertaking.”
Finally, in keeping with Rotary’s new area of focus, the environment, the “Green Volunteers” collected garbage in the park. What most do not know is that these volunteers took all of the garbage to a table and sorted it for organics and recycling. We received a letter from the Niagara Region informing us that the efforts of these volunteers generated 1793 kgs (3953 lbs.) of recyclable materials, as well as, 3211 kgs (7079 lbs.) of organic materials, keeping these items out of a landfill. Huge kudos to these volunteers for helping us make this festival as green as possible, we couldn't do it without them. Thank you!